Saugatuck and Douglas are considering spending a combined $10,000 to study the impact of possible consolidation on the governments and residents.

“They’re going to be unbiased,” Saugatuck Mayor Bill Hess said about the Livonia-based nonprofit Citizens Research Council of Michigan. “It will give our citizens the information they need to make a decision.”

The group supporting consolidation said any study should be competitively bid after public presentations.

Saugatuck will decide if it will allocate $5,000 for the study at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall, 102 Butler St. Douglas will make its decision on its $5,000 share at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at city hall, 6 Center St.

The cost could be covered by state grants, according to Saugatuck City Manager Kirk Harrier.

More than 250 people have signed a petition seeking a referendum on the state’s recent decision to consolidate the two Allegan County cities. The anti-consolidation group Citizens for Independent and Cooperative Communities plans to circulate the petitions until at least Thursday. The signatures are due at the State Boundary Commission on Feb. 19.

Representatives from Citizens Research Council met with officials from the cities earlier this week. The group proposed to “holistically examine” government operations as independent municipalities and as a merged city, assess the short-term costs of consolidation, such as legal fees, labor issues, debt and combining ordinances, and examine the costs required for residents and businesses if consolidation is approved, such as the need for new tax parcel identification numbers and renaming streets with duplicate names.

The study would be completed by April.

Saugatuck City Councilman Bill Lint questioned the need for the outside group to do the analysis when it could be done in-house by the city managers.

“I think we have a city manager who can do it,” Lint said. “There’s nothing wrong with doing our own scout work.”

Any report from city staff will be perceived as biased, said Councilman Mark Bekken, so an outside group would have better credibility.

The study needs to be unbiased, said Councilman Jeff Spangler.

“We need to get this away from the city and get the facts out,” he added.

The pro-consolidation group Consolidated Government Committee said the study should be bid out.

“While the Citizens Research Council (CRC) is a recognized and respected research agency in the Detroit area, the use of limited tax dollars should indicate to public officials considering this study that such a project be competitively bid so the taxpayers receive the best data at the lowest possible cost. Public presentations by the bidders should be conducted before any bid is awarded,” the group said in a statement.

The new investigation should also be built on the Plante & Moran and Michigan State University’s Extension Service studies that have already been completed.

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“Duplication of services is already too large a feature of local government for it to be continued in a study as important and potentially costly as this,” the group’s statement said.

The cities decided to look at consolidation issues now because the referendum petition has easily surpassed the about 90 signatures needed to seek a vote.

Once the petitions are turned in to the state, the boundary commission and local clerks verify the submissions. The commission then sets a date for the election.

If a majority of voters in either Saugatuck or Douglas reject the proposal, the consolidation process is over. If the issue passes in both communities, a charter commission is established and rules written for the new city. Residents then vote on the proposed charter. If it is approved, the new city begins.

The state got involved in the consolidation movement after a petition was submitted to Lansing in 2011 by the Consolidated Government Committee asking for a merger to save the communities money. On Dec. 12, the State Boundary Commission approved the recommendation that Saugatuck and Douglas consolidate into one city. The director of the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs office approved the proposal Jan. 4, setting the referendum drive into motion.